In a blatant case of a governmental double standard at work, the state of New Hampshire charges a $3 surcharge on credit card transactions for court fees, fines and other legal fees.
This fee is illegal, in truth, according to the regulations of Visa and MasterCard, which prevent retailers who use their credit cards from charging customers any unauthorized surcharge. Yet, after stopping the policy of the surcharge after the credit card company requested it, the state Supreme Court ruled that it should be able to collect the surcharge.
With 36,000 credit card transactions made in state courts, the state made $108,000 last year on the surcharge. Of course, if the court is acting like a business with the payments and surcharges, it hardly seems fair that it ruled in favor of the legality of its actions.
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